Search and Rescue
by Mockingbird Aria
Summary: Virbank native and aspiring actress Alice Meyers has only one friend in the whole world: her pet Umbreon. So when a band of Thieves known as the Sinister Six take her only source of strength, she will do anything to get him back. But even with the help of former gym leader Cress, the odds seemed stacked against her. Will she get Umbreon back? Find out in my premier OC fan fiction!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Well, _that _went well," he said with ample sarcasm. "Not only did we miss our mark, but we nearly got caught, Watts was spotted by the security guard, our crobat was left behind, and Peirce _got shot_! Come on, guys! How hard can it be to steal one measly absol? That thing was barely level three!"

"Cut us some slack, Rift," Ice replied, "It's not our fault that they hired extra guards. We can get it tomorrow night _and_ get Crobat back. It was just some bad luck."

Rift turned and looked at the other five members of his crew. The normally hyper Watts looked nervously at her shiny boots. The giant Peirce was holding a cloth to his bullet wound. Silent Ninja was digging around one of the boat cabin's consoles for the first-aid kit. Scrawny Blip was looking over his computer, clicking away at the keys. Ice was sitting at the boat's helm, steering them full-speed away from the Sinnoh region.

"No," Rift finally said, "We need a new mark. Somewhere far away from Sinnoh. Somewhere we can get a fresh start…"

"What about Unova?" Watts pitched in, "There are a lot of really powerful Pokémon in the Unova region! Pokéstar Studios is there, too! I've always wanted to steal a famous Pokémon!"

"That's actually not a bad idea," Ice agreed, "Unova's far away, too. They probably never heard of the Sinister Six Pokémon Thieves there."

Rift thought about it. Unova _had _just gotten over an ordeal with the infamous Team Plasma (for the second time); it was unlikely that they were expecting more thieves so soon.

"How long will it take to get to Unova?" he asked.

Watts immediately started cheering, "Yay! Unova! Unova! Unova!"

"I'll start researching a good mark," Blip volunteered.

For the first time that night, Rift smiled, "I have a feeling that this is the start of something grand."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Alice woke up with the same void in her chest as her careless mother shouted upstairs, "Alice! We're leaving! Don't be late for work!" Alice sighed and forced herself out of bed. Her parents had never cared about her. Even six months ago, when she had dropped out of school, they didn't say a word. They were always too wrapped up in their socialite lifestyles to care about her. They had broken her heart time and time again over the years, missing her plays, throwing out her honor roll certificates. No matter what she did to get their attention, they couldn't care less.

She walked over to her mirror and brushed out her short, straight, black hair and examined her hazel eyes. Today they were green with a twinge of red.

She watched as her precious Umbreon yawned on her bed. Umbreon was the light of her life, her best friend, and she couldn't live without the Pokémon. As a matter-of-fact, the way she saw it Umbreon was the _only_ good thing in her life.

"Good morning, Umbreon," she cooed, stroking its head, "Did you sleep well? We've got an audition today! I'm sure we'll get it this time!"

The Pokémon licked her nose affectionately and snuggled close to be petted. She stroked its fur and laughed. She felt a little less heavy-hearted.

She threw on her chosen audition outfit, the one with the neon green and hot pink liepard-print shirt that hugged her sides and the skinny jeans and combat boots. She grabbed her leather jacket and matching purse. She clicked the collar with the intimidating spikes around Umbreon's neck and a matching one around her own.

"Look at us Umbreon!" she laughed, "We look like grade-A punks, huh?"

He barked in agreement.

The one good thing about her mother is that she had a wide variety of outfits that she usually passed down to Alice after just one use. So Alice's wardrobe was as expansive as a fashion designers' notebook.

She looked outside and saw the usual Virbank City fog.

"Well, Umbreon," she decided, "It's now or never."

Just like she had every morning for the past few months, she went to Mr. Deeoh's office first thing to pick up her daily assignment. She was a producer's assistant (PA) and the job was not nearly as glamorous as it sounded. She was basically the set's errand girl.

"Good morning, Mr. Deeoh," she greeted, plastering on a fake smile and trying to seem cheerful, "How are you?"

"Uhg! Terrible, darling, just terrible!" he replied, "Sabrina has had an on-set injury and can't film the rest of the movie so I have to put the _whole_ production on hold and she demands a _huge_ payout! What am I going to do?!"

"I don't know, sir. I'm only a PA."

"Uh. Right. Today you'll be working on the set of _The Red Fog of Terror 3_."

"Alright. Um, could you remind me when the auditions for _Curse of Shadows_ are?"

"Today at four, why?"

"Well… I'm planning on auditioning."

"Oh, sweetheart. I have to be honest with you; I just don't see you having… _it!_ What role did you plan on auditioning for?" Ouch.

"The main antagonist. I'm sure you'll change your mind once you see me on stage." In truth, she wasn't that optimistic. "Umbreon and I are fantastic!"

"Don't get a big head, darling. Now, shoo! I've _real_ work to deal with."

She mumbled, "Yes sir." And walked away.

Most of the minor actors on the set of _The Red Fog of Terror 3_ were complete dirt-bags. They seemed to be making a point of tormenting Alice in everyway possible.

"PA, get me coffee!"

"PA, I need the revised edition of the script!"

"PA, I need you to get my cell out of my locker! I don't care if it's against the rules! Figure the combination out yourself!"

It was ridiculous.

At three she clocked out early and went to line up for the audition. She and Umbreon were last and line and she spent the time rehearsing her lines over and over again.

As she drew closer to the beginning of the line the butterflies in her stomach began to flutter more and more.

Finally, they called "Next!" and it was her turn. She took deep breath and walked into the room.

Feigning confidence, she boldly pulled a chair with armrests onto the stage and let Umbreon follow her.

"Hello," she began, "My name is Alice Meyers of Virbank City and I am auditioning for the role of the Great Tyrant."

She sat down on the chair with her head hanging over one armrest and her legs over the other. She rested her hands in her lap and then looked up suddenly as if someone had walked in.

Suddenly, she was no longer Alice Meyers of Virbank City on a soundstage; she was the Great Tyrant of _Curse of Shadows_ sitting in a throne room.

"_Oh,_" she began, "_It's _you_! About time you got here!_" she chuckled evilly, "_What? Am I not what you were expecting? Oh, how typical! All you men believe that the big, scary monsters _must_ be men, am I right? Anyway, why don't you issue your complaint then go back to your little resistance game, hmm? You're revolt will be crushed in a few orders, anyway._" She went back to her original, nonchalant position.

The hero replied, "_I'm stronger than you!_"

For half a panicked second, Alice slipped back into reality. That wasn't what was in the script!

Then she went back to her character. She swiveled into an upright position and chuckled again, "_How cute. It's a crying shame that I'll have to kill you. Umbreon? Will you be a dear and use shadow ball?_" Umbreon complied, leaping in the air and aiming a shadow ball at the ground.

"_See? That one blow did more damage to you than a million of your attacks could do to _my_ Umbreon!_" She petted Umbreon affectionately.

The audition was over.

"Bravo!" the casting director applauded, "That was the most interesting audition I've seen all day! No one else thought to use their own Pokémon _and_ a chair like that! You are absolutely _perfect_ for the role! And you and Umbreon are so in sync! Normally, we don't let beginners use their own Pokémon, but I'm sure Mr. Deeoh will make an exception when he sees the audition tape!"

Alice could hardly believe it, "You mean… I get the role?!"

"Of course! Rehearsals start in a few months, you'll get the full script then and make sure you bring that umbreon! The two of you together will make this film!"

With the exception of meeting Umbreon back when he was an eevee, this was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

"Thank you _so much_!" She was on the verge of tears, "You have no idea how much this means to me! You won't regret it, I promise! Thank you!"

"This calls for a celebration, Umbreon!" Alice cheered when they left Pokéstar Studios. "What should we do? Maybe the Parental Units have some good leftovers in the fridge today and we can feast!"

Umbreon yapped in excitement.

"Just think, Umbers! This time next year we'll be famous! Once we make enough money we can hire a lawyer and get emancipated from the Parental Units! Then we can make more money to buy our own house and we can eat at all the best restaurants in Unova and we'll never be miserable or neglected again! Doesn't that sound great?"

Umbreon cheered like it was agreeing.

"Maybe we'll even be able to make more friends…"

They stood overlooking the sunset over the ocean.

Alice knelt down and hugged Umbreon.

"I love you so much, Umbreon. I'll never let anything separate us. Never."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The next day Alice got a call from the director of the film that she was apparently assigned to that morning. She drowsily picked up the Cross-Transceiver and made sure her end was audio-only.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, there! I'm your director today and I need you to do me a super favor, got it?"

"Uh… Okay. Um, I don't mean to sound rude, but it's like five in the morning and I don't technically work for you for another three hours. So…"

"Listen! One of my extras dropped out last-minute and I need a replacement for the ball scene we're shooting today! So come wearing semi-formal attire, like something you'd wear at a… banquet or a homecoming dance! Got it, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, sure. Okay. No problem. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Sure thing, doll-face." He hung up and Alice face-planted in her pillow.

Later Alice came into work with her hair in tiny curls, held up in a fancy-looking ponytail. Her dress was mostly white with a silky, sky-blue sash and a large black flowers printed on the flow-y skirt that went down a little higher than her knees. She wore white, strappy high-heels with clear rhinestones and a necklace that matched it. Umbreon wore a bow tie that matched her sash.

"What do you want me to do director?" she asked when she arrived.

"Easy. All you have to do is literally stand there and look pretty."

"Alright, no problem."

Alice and Umbreon stood for a really long time just doing nothing. No one talked to Alice and Alice didn't seek conversation with anyone but Umbreon. To pass the time, Alice began to people-watch. She noticed some suspicious activity amongst the extras. A tiny girl with blonde pixie-cut was pacing the room, muttering as if she were counting her steps. A large man stood near the doorway. A scrawny guy sat tapping away at a laptop. A couple stood arm-in-arm appearing to talk to each other, but she noticed what looked like an earplug in the boy's ear.

She might have disregarded this, but she started to notice some other things. The lights indicating that the cameras were on started blinking off one by one. The other people she had noticed had earplugs, too. The girl stopped pacing and talked with a finger to her ear. The big guy started scooting closer to the door.

Alice realized what was going on.

"Come on, Umbreon," she ordered quietly, "We need to get out of here _now_."

She started heading toward the back exit and was about to reach the edge of the set when she heard a loud shout.

"Nobody move! Recall your Pokémon and put the pokéballs in the bag!" The man in the couple shouted. The mysterious characters were holding Tasers and surrounding the set.

Alice bolted. "Come on, Umbers!"

They made a mad dash for the door. She was just about to reach it when a lithe, masked person appeared and grabbed her from behind.

"Nice one, Ninja," the big guy cheered.

"Cooperate. We don't want to hurt you," Ninja told her.

"Screw you!" she shrieked as she kicked and thrashed about. "Umbreon! Run away! Get out of here!"

Umbreon dashed for the door but his escape was thwarted by a large weavile.

"Umbreon!" Alice shrieked, "Let go of me, you thief!" She managed to writhe her way out of his grasp for a moment before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

The pixie girl walked over to Umbreon and cooed, "Come here, you little cutie."

"Umbreon! Shadow ball!" Umbreon lashed out and the pixie barely dodged the attack.

"Ice! Help me!" the pixie cried.

The female in the couple looked at her significant other, "What should we do about this, Rift?"

"Blip," he called, "how long until security gets here?"

"A few minutes," he replied.

"Pierce, taze the Umbreon."

"No!" Alice shouted.

The wires of the Taser shot it's needles into Umbreon's flesh and Alice heard a sickening buzzing as Umbreon seized up.

Alice started shrieking curses at the thieves and trying to wiggle her way out of Ninja's grasp.

"What should I do with her?" Ninja inquired.

"Just leave her," Rift answered. Ninja put her down rather gently. She immediately dashed for the giant, who was now holding Umbreon. The pixie tackled her to the ground.

"Nice, Watts," Ice encouraged.

"Thank you," Watts smiled.

Alice thrashed around until she managed to get on top of Watts. She managed to slam her fist into the girl's face all of one time before the giant grabbed her raised wrist and pulled her up to her feet. He pulled her into a chokehold. Ice now held Umbreon.

"What should we do with her?" Pierce inquired.

Alice noticed a freshly stitched wound on Pierce's arm. She grabbed it and squeezed until he called out in pain and she was able to get out of his grasp.

Rift rolled his eyes and groaned, "Oh, for the love of… Ice, do something."

Ninja grabbed Alice again and Ice drew a pokéball. She called out a mamoswine. Alice saw her backpack-like purse stashed under one of the set chairs (she had never trusted the studio lockers) and dived for it.

She pulled out Umbreon's pokéball and tried to recall him, but Ice turned away.

Ninja struggled to hold her wrist to the wall and Ice ordered Mamoswine to freeze it there. The cold ripped through her as the ice surrounded her wrist.

"Sorry," Ninja apologized quietly.

Alice spat in his face.

The thieves left her wondering when the tears had appeared in her eyes.

Alice spent the next five minutes slamming her metal water bottle into the ice around her wrist. She couldn't believe that all the cast and crew were just sitting there, watching her struggle, waiting for the police to show up while those dirty thieves were getting away with Umbreon!

But then again, they _were_ people.

She finally shattered the ice and she scooped up her purse. She dashed to the door only to find that it was apparently bolted shut from the outside.

Alice slammed against it a couple of times shouting "No, no, no!" With a grunt she gave up and turned her attention toward the air vents. She fished around in her purse until she produced her Swiss-Army knife and quickly unscrewed the air vent.

"What are you doing?" the leading lady demanded.

She crawled in the vent and called back, "Saving my best friend!"

Alice found her way to the lobby fairly easily and managed to turn around with great difficulty and kick out the air vent with a few hard blows. The people in the lobby stared at her as she rose to her feet, but she was busy scanning the lobby for the thieves.

She spotted them and shouted, "Stop! Thieves! Stop them!" Everyone in the lobby (especially Alice) moved to stop them.

Alice dived for Ice (still holding Umbreon) and tackled her. Umbreon was knocked from her grasp and groaned before slumping back down. What was wrong? The effects of a Taser didn't last this long…

"What did you do to him?" Alice shouted in Ice's face right before Rift and Ninja pulled her up.

"We drugged him," she replied as if it were nothing, "he's a fighter like his owner."

"You… _WHAT_?!" Alice thrashed about again, struggling to break free of the thieves. She barely noticed the intense Pokémon battling going on around her.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Rift growled.

"I admire your persistence," Ninja commented seriously.

"Guys," Pierce called as he picked up Umbreon and _threw him_ in a _sack_, "We gotta go!"

Ninja produced smoke bombs out of thin air and threw them on the ground. Smoke filled the room as Alice as dropped on the ground. Fortunately, Alice could hear the sound of the door opening and ran towards it.

Alice emerged from the smoke-filled room and looked around for the thieves for a confused moment until she was nearly run over by three motorcycles driven by the thieves. She dashed after them full-sprint until she realized they were heading east.

_Of course!_ She realized, _the dock!_

Alice turned a corner, letting them take the slow path while she took while she took the short cut. She arrived at the dock moments before they did.

They drove up a lowered platform to what looked like a tour boat and Blip immediately turned on the engine while the others prepared to cast-off. She dashed over and managed to leap onto the boat just as they shot away from the dock.

Her arrival was met with surprised exclamations like "What the…?" and "It's that girl again!"

"Ninja, throw her overboard!" Rift ordered.

She knew from experience at this point that pretty much everyone on the vessel was stronger than her, so she immediately grabbed a nearby gaff and wielded it as a weapon. Still, she was skeptical about her probability of victory…

"Listen!" she shouted over the sound of the wind and the motor, "I'll be honest with you guys, I don't care about or even like those other guys' Pokémon! They're all kinda jerks. Just give me back Umbreon and we can all go on our merry way and pretend that this never happened!"

"Don't listen to her!" Watts shouted, "She's seen the boat and the bikes! She knows too much! We can't trust her!" Alice was really starting to hate that pixie girl.

"One of our clients has been looking for an Umbreon for a really long time," Blip added.

Pierce snuck up from behind and literally _threw her off the boat._ She hit the water with a smack and skipped across it like a stone three times before finally stopping. With the breath knocked out of her, she watched as the boat sped away.

She didn't hesitate to start swimming after it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

A little while later, Alice's arms and legs were aching and she could feel her skin simultaneously burning and wrinkling.

But she couldn't stop. Somewhere over that horizon Umbreon was probably waking from his drug-induced stupor in panic, wondering where she was and where he was. He might lash out and the thieves might drug him again or put him in a cage or hurt him.

Somewhere over that horizon, Alice's best friend needed her help.

And yet, the fatigue was getting to her. There was a spitting pain in her sides, her limbs felt like rubber, her back and neck ached, and it was getting harder to breath. She was so exhausted that she didn't even notice the Pokémon come up behind her until it picked her up.

She had been picked up from behind that day one time to many and reflexively struggled, but much weaker than she had before.

"Stop struggling!" a male voice said, "We're _helping you_."

"W-who are you?" she demanded weakly, "What do you want?"

"I'm Cress," the person replied as it pulled her onto the back of his samurott, "user of water-type Pokémon, former gym leader, etc. And you are?" she recognized the blue hair from some old episodes of _National Gymquirer. _

"Alice," she managed. Normally, she was not one to beg or trust complete strangers, but… "Please, thieves stole my Umbreon. They were heading east from Virbank. I need to stop them, _please._"

"Isn't this a job for the police?"

"No, I have to save Umbers…" despite herself, she could feel herself falling asleep.

Cress sighed, "Thieves, huh? They're probably heading for Castelia. No problem, my Samurott can manage that swim easily. You rest up and I'll help you find those thieves when we get there."

Then she drifted off.

"Wake up," Cress' voice said, "Like I said we would, we've arrived with ease."

Alice groaned as she looked around. Her ears were bombarded by the sounds of the city. Once she recomposed her thoughts, she leapt onto the dock and bolted without even saying thanks. There was no time.

"Hey!" Cress called after her, "Where are you going?"

"To find Umbreon, of course!" she called back.

He jogged after her, trying to keep her pace, "Not even a thank you?"

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. Was that so hard?"  
"I don't have time for this."

"I wanted to ask you. Where are your other Pokémon?"

"I don't have any. Umbreon's my only Pokémon."

"Well then, it seems I have no choice but to accompany you on your search."

"Listen, while your help is very much appreciated, I need to be able to travel quickly."

"I don't think you're dressed appropriately for that."

"I don't have time to change!"

"Do you even have a plan?"

"Of course! They got here by ship, so I'll just go from dock to dock until I find their boat."

"Then let me help. What did the boat look like? We can split up and expand our search."

As she jogged toward the next dock she thought about it. It _was_ true that they could cover more ground this way.

"It was a fairly large boat with a cabin on top and it had an entrance to the lower level on the deck large enough to fit two motorcycles through it at once. It was painted black and I don't think it had a name painted on it."

"Alright, I'll take the two docks farther away from here and you take this dock and the next. Give me your Cross-Transceiver number; I'll call you if I find the ship."

They quickly exchanged numbers and split up.

It was a little while later when Cress called her. Alice had just finished looking up and down the second dock and she was starting to panic a little when she heard her Cross-Transceiver ringing.

"Cress! Please tell me you found it!"

He replied easily, "Of course I did! It's completely devoid of life, though. I talked to some people and they said that the thieves were heading north on dirt bikes. I'm willing to bet that they're heading for the desert."

"Alright, thanks. I'm heading there, now."

"I'll meet you there."

She was too exhausted at this point to run, but she still jogged north.

By the time Alice reached the entrance to the desert she was pretty sure her feet were bleeding, but she didn't take the time to look down. Cress somehow managed to beat her there.

"A-anything new?" she panted.

"You don't have to worry about the desert."

"Wh-why?" she pulled out her water bottle and took a long drink.

"I took a detour on my way. I went through Narrow Street and talked to an old acquaintance of mine. They _are_ meeting some people in the desert, but those people aren't looking to buy an Umbreon. Your welcome."

"Then what should we do now?"

"Easy. Head to Nimbasa. They wouldn't have bothered to take _all _the Pokémon with them if they were planning on heading back to the ship anytime soon or even stay in Castelia and southeastern Unova isn't exactly a hotbed of corruption. Trust me. I've lived there my whole life. Now tell me what a genius I am."

"How humble. By the way, thanks for helping me with all this."

"No problem. I'm just out and about soul-searching, training, not really doing much. It's only a short walk to Nimbasa from here. You wouldn't happen to have more practical shoes you could change into, would you?"

"No."

"Well, we _will _be passing through Join Avenue on the way. You can buy something new. My treat."

For the first time that day, Alice laughed, "You sure about that, Cress? I inherited my mother's taste in clothing."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"Expensive."

"No problem. As should be expected from a trainer as talented as myself, I've got plenty of prize money saved up."

"Your money. Whatever, let's get a move on." As they walked into the desert, Alice took notice of the sunset. She hadn't realized how late it was.

_Umbreon,_ she prayed, _wherever you are, whatever you're doing, don't worry. I'm going to save you. You can bet your tail on it. _

Meanwhile, in Relic Castle, an underground auction was being held. The Sinister Six Pokémon Thieves were managing their stolen Pokémon.

Ninja slipped a treat through the bars of Umbreon's cage. The Pokémon sniffed it suspiciously before eating it happily.

"How much for the Umbreon?" an old man asked Rift.

"It's not for sale. We have a buyer lined up already," Rift replied curtly.

"Then why is it on display?"

"It isn't." This was true. Umbreon's cage was situated behind the other cages, "We don't have anywhere else to put it."

"How about it's pokéball?"

"We had some difficulty procuring this one," Ice replied in an annoyed tone. She hated fat cats like this man.

"…How much for the riolu?"

"The starting price is fifty-thousand Poké."

"Fifty-thousand?! Isn't that a bit unreasonable?"

"It's shiny."

At that moment, Watts appeared holding an emolga and shouted, "Hey guys! Look what I bought! It's my new favorite. Imma call it Chewy."

"Uh… You didn't buy that with the team funds, did you?" Blip inquired, looking up from his laptop for the first time that night.

She looked to the side and answered, "No…"

"Ah, come on!"

"I didn't spend _that _much."

"It's an _emolga_! You can catch those easily in Unova!"

"Don't yell at me! I'll get Peirce to kill you!"

Watts was the youngest member of the group, but by far the most persuasive. She had Pierce wrapped around her finger.

Ninja slipped another treat to Umbreon and scratched its ears through the bars of its cage.

Alice found that despite her exhaustion and the late hour, she couldn't sleep. She had bought (with Cress' money) and changed into a comfortable pair of jeans, t-shirt, and jacket. She also bought a pair of practical boots, which felt like heaven on her feet in comparison with the tight heels. She had also refilled her water bottle and bought as many snacks as she could fit into purse-backpack-thing.

Now she was lying on a bed in a Pokémon Center, staring at the ceiling, trying to remember the last time she had slept without her Pokémon companion. She didn't realize how hard it would be. She found her fingers tracing the long-forgotten scars on her arms. She shivered with the memory of the pain, the blood. It had been a long time since she could comprehend why she did that to herself, but now she was starting to remember.

She shook the thoughts from her head. She _would_ get Umbreon back. She _would_ get her life back on track_._ She _would_ make her life better with Umbreon by her side.

No matter what.

Alice must've drifted off at some point, because she woke up to a knock on her door. It took her half a second to remember where she was but then it all came crashing back to her. The pain in her heart swelled as she remembered that Umbreon wasn't there.

"Alice," Cress called from the other side of the door, "are you awake? We should get moving if we want to catch those Thieves when they come into the city."

She got up, grabbed her things, and answered the door.

She greeted, "I assume you have a plan?"

"Of course! I always have a plan!"

"Wow. You're a little big-headed, aren't you?"

"I have a right to be. After all, I _am _the best."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Congratulations, you have successfully perpetuated my lack of faith in the human race."

"Aren't you the pessimist?"

"Only when it comes to humanity."

"No matter. I will soon prove my case. Now come," he offered his arm, "shall we apprehend some thieves?"

Alice found herself laughing as she took his arm, "Yes, lets."

A little while later they were sitting outside Gear Station on a bench.

"So…" Cress began awkwardly, "Why don't you tell me a bit more about yourself?"

"What is this, a date?" Alice retorted.

"You have tasked me with seemingly difficult mission of restoring your faith in humanity. I assume that involves having some level of insight into your life."

"Whatever. Let me think… My only friend is a pokémon. I recently won a role as a bad guy in a movie. I work as a PA at Pokéstar studios. My parents are never at home…"

"Because of work?"

She scoffed, "I wish. You see, my mother inherited a boatload of money from this old guy she nursed back when she was, you know, a nurse. Anyway, after she inherited the guy's _entire_ estate, the first thing she liquidated any asset she didn't want to keep for herself. After that she quit her job and my dear old dad followed suit. I guess the money went to their heads or whatever, because they began spending more and more time and resources on themselves and less and less on me."

"I'd say that's a pretty decent reason to lose faith in humanity."

"Why are we even talking about this? We should be keeping our eyes peeled for those dirty thieves!"

"Relax. Chances are they won't show up for a while longer. I'm just trying to alleviate the boredom."

"Then tell me about _your_self Mr. Ex-Gym Leader/Triplet/Restaurant Co-Owner."

"You seem to already seem to know quite a bit about me."

"I Googled you last night… that and I have a lot of reruns of _National Gymquierer _on my DVR. Where are your brothers?"

His face grew more serious, "We had a bit of a… falling out."

"A falling-out?"

He sighed, "A while back we realized that we were only strong together, so we decided to retire as gym leaders to further our own abilities. After that our relationship has… deteriorated. We grew further apart every day and eventually it was like we weren't even brothers anymore. We couldn't get along. I recently decided I couldn't take the frayed tensions and left to travel Unova."

"At least you _have_ siblings. It's always been just Umbreon and I against the world."

He laughed sadly, "Yeah, I guess you're right, but sometimes it hurts more to have something and lose it than never have it at all."

They were silent for a moment before she heard the sound of dirt bikes coming from down the street.

"I think that's them!" she exclaimed, leaping to her feet.

Cress pulled out a pokéball and called, "Go, Slowking and Golduck!"

The two pokémon appeared on the street in front of the just as the six dirt bikes rounded the corner.

"That _is_ them!"

"Slowking, Golduck, use psychic!" Not even a second after the order, the thieves, bikes and all, were hoisted into the air.

"It's that girl again!" Blip growled in an annoyed voice.

"She's starting to grow on me," Ninja added calmly.

"Shut up and do something!" Watts whined, "I don't like this!"

Ninja pulled out a pokéball of his own and silently called out the same weavile he had at the studio. Unaffected by the move, it hopped down to the street. It was then that Alice spotted Umbreon in his cage.

"Don't worry, Umbers! I'm coming!" She rushed forward and felt herself becoming weightless as she worked toward the dirt bike his cage was attached to.

Ninja ordered, "Weavile, dark pulse on the Slowking."

The attack hit and Alice felt the pokémon's focus wavering as some of the floating things wavered for second.

Cress instantly retaliated, "Slowking, fire blast!" The attack knocked out Weavile instantly as Alice kicked off one of the bikes to propel herself toward Umbreon's cage. She was redirected by Ice plowing into her from her left as Ninja called out a Sableye.

"Give me back my pokémon!" Alice shouted as she fought to pry Ice off of her.

"Dear God! Is that all you can say?!" Ice replied.

At that same moment Ninja barked, "Foul Play on Slowking!"

The attack hit and Slowking fainted. Everything immediately to the right of Ice and Alice fell to the ground, including Watts, Ninja, and Blip.

"Ninja," Rift barked, "Secure the Umbreon! Watts, Blip, take over where he left off."

Ninja recalled Sableye with a nod and leapt back into the psychic field.

"Yay! I get to battle!" Watts cheered.

"This should be interesting," Blip agreed as he reached for a pokéball.

"Oi vey." Cress sighed.

"Ninja!" Rift yelled, "Throw me toward Pierce!"

Ninja kicked off the ground and used the momentum to fling Rift toward the giant. Rift kicked Pierce with both legs toward Ice and Alice as he ordered, "Help Ice!"

"Go, Emolga!" Watts called out.

"Porygon-Z, come on out!" Blip added.

Cress solemnly called out a Simipour just as Pierce reached Alice. Acting on instinct, Alice used one last push of effort to push Ice off of her then kicked off of her, simultaneously propelling her toward Umbreon's cage and pushing Ice out of the psychic field. Pierce redirected his course and leapt out of the psychic field just in time to catch Ice.

"Emolga!" Watts called, "Thunderbolt on Golduck!"

"Simipour! Ice beam on Emolga!" Cress retaliated.

Both attacks hit, greatly weakening Golduck and knocking out Emolga.

Blip retaliated by ordering Porygon-Z to use zap cannon on Golduck. Golduck fainted when Alice's fingers were only inches away from Umbreon. They fell to the ground. Ninja grabbed Umbreon's cage and landed gracefully on his feet. Ninja dropped Umbreon's cage then caught Alice in the nick of time.

"Let go of me!" Alice shouted the second she registered that he had caught her.

He complied as Cress called out a Seismitoad and Watts called out a Raichu.

"Are you alright, Alice?" Cress called out with a concerned tone.

Alice answered by punching Ninja as hard as she could in the eye and saying, "I'm fine." She rushed toward Umbreon, but was stopped by Pierce and Rift.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rift demanded.

"Seismitoad," Cress barked, "use Earth power on Raichu! Simipour, use Low Kick on Porygon-Z!" Seismitoad's attack missed, but Simipour's was dead-on and Porygon-Z fainted.

"Alice!" Cress called as Raichu used discharge, "I'd appreciate it if you would hurry!"

Rift grabbed Alice's neck from behind and she did the only thing she could think of. She pulled out her Swiss-army knife and pulled open the blade. After she managed that, she drove the blade into her captor's muscular arm.

Simipour barely managed to hang on as Alice freed herself from Rift's grasp and Blip called out a linoone as Peirce grabbed her. Desperately, Alice thrust the knife at him, but only managed to slice open the bag on his back and pokéballs spilled out of the hole.

"Oh, that's just great!" Ice groaned, "Way to go, Peirce!"

"Let go of me!" Alice demanded.

"Seriously is that_ all _you can say?"

Alice told her to be quiet with a few choice words.

Ice rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Let's just put these idiots to sleep and move on with our lives."

"Good idea," Rift agreed.

Peirce called out an altaria and ordered it to sing as the thieves plugged their ears. Alice tried to stay awake, but the music was just so relaxing…


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Alice woke up a while later to the sound of police sirens. She found that she was lying on a park bench and Cress was sitting on the curb in front of her. The scene around her was chaotic with the police collecting the wrecked dirt bikes and interviewing witnesses.

"Cress?" Alice mumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Alice!" he greeted, turning to face her, "I'm glad to see you're awake!"

She sat up and asked, "What happened?"

"After that man, Pierce, put you to sleep with his pokémon and deposited you on that bench, the ninja snuck up behind me and tied me up while the rest knocked out my pokémon. They heard police sirens in the distance and began collecting the pokéballs you caused to fall on the ground. They missed one, though," he held it up in demonstration. "The police said that it was alright if I held onto it on account of my stellar reputation. I was going to let you use it, though, since it's not really my kind of pokémon."

He handed the pokéball to Alice and she took it.

"What kind of pokémon is it?"

"A Mandibuzz. According to the police, no one ever filed a missing pokémon report for it. They also told me a bit about our thieves."

"… I see." The pokéball was old and worn. It was dirty and unkempt. Alice called out the bird pokémon to see that it was just as unkempt. It shrieked in her face with anger and fear. She immediately empathized with this neglected, abandoned, lonely pokémon.

Alice looked at it sadly and pulled out Umbreon's favorite pokémon treats, the ones she made herself. She held out one of the bone-shaped treat toward the scraggly pokémon. It sniffed it suspiciously and then took it in its beak.

Alice smiled sadly and slowly stroked its head gently.

"Good girl," Alice purred.

Cress sat next to her on the bench, "You're very good with pokémon."

"They certainly make better company than people… except maybe, you."

"My, my, Alice. Have I been added to the short list of people you trust?"

She scoffed, "At this point, you _are_ the list of people I trust."

"A small success, but significant none the less. So, my lady, what is our next move?"

Alice recalled Mandibuzz and stood up as she placed the pokéball in her bag next to Umbreon's.

"We follow them, of course," she replied, "Where would they be heading?" She tried to recall the map of Unova in her house in Virbank.

"I suppose they'd head to Driftveil, then onward to Mistralion."

"Then let's go."

Alice kept a brisk pace as they walked across the Driftveil Drawbridge. She barely spoke the entire time they walked. Instead, she listened as Cress told her all about the Sinister Six Pokémon Thieves.

Not much was known about them since only one, Pierce, had ever been arrested before. What the authorities _did _know was that they were considered the best of the best of the Pokémon Thieving world. Not only were they impossible to catch, but _nothing_ they ever stole came up again. They were highly organized and would resort to _anything_ to protect themselves from getting caught except, apparently killing. Although it was suspected that Ninja used to be an assassin, the Sinister Six as a unit had never taken a single life. Cress had observed during his battle and confirmed through the police that each member used a different Pokémon type. Ninja used dark types, Watts used electric types, Blip used normal types, Ice (obviously) used ice types, Pierce used flying types, and Rift used ghost types.

As they approached the end of the drawbridge Cress asked, "I regret to say that I haven't had much time to plan anything. You wouldn't have happened to think of something, would you?"

"I actually, I have," she answered, "You ask around town while Mandibuzz and I search from the sky."

"Is splitting up a good idea?"

"You suggested it in Castelia."

"I admit that I did, but that was before I knew what I know now. Ice and Watts both use Pokémon that have the advantage over flying-types _and_ we know that Ninja has that Weavile, which is part ice type. Not to mention that you're not all that familiar with Mandibuzz yet. It might not even listen to you."

"Do you have a better plan, Mr. Ex-Gym-Leader?"

He sighed, "Alright, I admit defeat. Also, I would appreciate it very much if you would stop calling me that."

"I'll think about." She was only half joking.  
"Where should I look first?"

Alice thought for a moment as they stood on the threshold into Driftveil then replied, "I'd check hospitals and the Pokémon Center, first. And isn't the PWT here?"

"Yes, it is and it makes sense they'd want to rob the PWT. That's good thinking. I'll look. Please don't get too far away on your own, though. I want to be able to reach you quickly if you need me."

"That sounds doable." She called out Mandibuzz and fed it a treat as she stroked its head. She looked at Cress and suddenly felt concern for his safety. It was something she never felt toward a fellow human being before.

He turned to go and she called out, "Hey, Cress!"

He turned back toward her with a somewhat concerned expression on his face, "Do you need something else?"

"Uh… Just… don't die or anything, okay?"

Cress laughed and replied, "Oh, Alice, haven't you learned by now that I am more than capable of taking care of myself? I thought I had demonstrated my Pokémon Prowess in Nimbasa."

Alice smiled, "You mean right before you let them get away? Yeah, that was pretty cool."

That night, Cress and Alice sat at a table in the Pokémon Center lobby in bright red chairs.

"...but no one saw them leave the city after they were spotted entering. I doubt that they'd be able to resist the temptation of the powerful Pokémon that will be at tomorrow's tournament," Cress explained.

"I didn't have much luck from the sky, either. Maybe we should ask some of the more… _connected_ people in town if they've caught wind of any of their plans," Alice replied.

"Knowing what we do about the Sinister Six, I doubt we'd hear anything if we tried."

Alice sighed, "I _have_ to find Umbreon. If I don't…" she felt at the scars on her arms again, but lowered her hand quickly out of fear that Cress would notice.

"Don't worry," Cress encouraged, "With my skill, power, and connections and your determination and moxie we'll get them." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head.

Alice rolled her eyes, but secretly his confidence was a bit comforting. There was something about Cress' presence that was relaxing.

"By the way," Alice began, "I wanted to thank you for helping me with all this... Huh... I just realized that's the first time I ever thanked someone for something they did for me and actually meant it."

"No problem. It's not like I had anything better to do anyway. Things in Unova have been really quiet these past few months. To be honest, I was sort of hoping there would be something that I could _actually_ do. It's a shame that I have all these skills and nothing to do with them."

"Anyway, we've rested enough," Alice decided as she stood up and pulled her jacket back on, "Let's get back to work."

Off in some forsaken branch of Clay Tunnel, Ice was inspecting her needle work on Rift's arm.

"Hmm," she began, "Do you think Blissy can do anything, Blip?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, "That's pretty nasty and Blissy's only ever done small wounds and illnesses."

"Well, can't she _try_?" Rift growled.

"I don't want to exhaust her before the heist!"

"Hey, Ninja," Watts chimed across the room, sitting on Umbreon's cage, "Do you like this Umbreon?"

"Why do you ask?" he replied as he fed Umbreon yet another treat.

"Cause you feed it treats all the time."

"…I like dark-types."

"Well… You know Rift ain't gonna let you keep it."

"I never said I wanted to."

"I think that you do."

"It's a well-trained Umbreon."

"You know the rules. We're not allowed to keep 'em unless the deal falls through."

"I know."

"… So… are you excited about the heist? I get to short out the lights!"

"I'm never excited about stealing. It doesn't matter how desperate we are, Watts, it's still wrong. Saying that we have no other choice is just making excuses."

"I'm not making excuses! I _wanted_ to be a thief! So I could get back all the jerks for when they bullied me!"

"Watts… I won't try to pretend to understand your motives, but someone as young as you shouldn't have chosen this life."

She rolled her eyes, "I know, but you guys are more of a family to me than my real family ever was."

Ninja sighed and gave up. Hopefully he'd have better luck during the heist.

"And you're _sure_ they're going to be here?" Alice asked for about the fifth time as they walked into the coliseum seating. Cress managed to get them front-row seats even though the tournament was sold out.

"Absolutely," he replied, "Have I steered you wrong, yet?"

"I suppose not, but was it a good idea to alert the police?"

"It would be against the law _not_ to. But don't worry; I left an _anonymous_ tip, so they probably won't think much of it."

Alice smiled, "Good."

They took their seats just as the announcer's voice came on the intercom.

"Good morning Ladies and Gentleman and Welcome to the Pokémon World Tooooooour-na-meeeent!"

The crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Even Cress shouted with excitement, but Alice couldn't bring herself to even fake it. She was too busy scanning the screaming crowd for signs of the Sinister Six.

"For our first battle in today's Type Expert Double-Battle Tournament," the announcer announced, "On one side, we have everyone's favorite hot-headed fire-type user, Striation's own Chili!"

The crowd roared its approval as Alice turned toward Cress.

"Isn't that your brother?" She shouted over the crowd.

He nodded in reply.

"And in the other corner we have a newcomer to the PWT, the ice-type user, Evelyn Sheer!"

The crowd cheered their encouragement for the unfamiliar girl who strutted onto the stage like she owned the place.

They stepped to the center of the ring and Chili extended his hand for her to shake and she took it. He said something to which she replied with a smirk something that made Chili look very angry.

_She knows how to put on a show, I'll give her that_, Alice thought.

She turned dramatically and strutted back to her side of the stage. Chili jogged to his side just a moment later, still fuming.

"Now, LEEEET'S BAAAAAAAAATLEEEEEE!"

Chili called out an Emboar and a Simisear and Evelyn called out a Mamoswine and a Jynx.

Chili was the first to attack, lashing out by ordering his Emboar to use flare blitz on Mamoswine and his Simisear to use low kick on Jynx.

"That idiot!" Cress moaned, "He isn't thinking, as usual!"

The Mamoswine used endure and barely managed to hang on because of it, but the Jynx was practically unscathed and immediately retaliated by using psychic on Emboar. Emboar fainted in an instant and Chili sent out an Arcanine to compensate. Chili lashed out again, telling Simisear to use low kick on Mamoswine and the huge Pokémon was knocked out.

"Way to go, Chili! Keep up the good work!" Cress shouted.

Evelyn sent out an Abomasnow and ordered Jynx to use body slam on Arcanine, but the dog Pokémon dodged easily and retaliated with overheat.

It was hard for Alice to pull her eyes away from the intense battle, especially with Cress' uncharacteristically insane cheering, but she forced herself to do it anyway and resumed scanning the crowd for signs of the Sinister Six. For the longest time she looked around, at first discreetly then more obviously. She didn't see any of them and eventually her eyes drifted back to the battle.

Evelyn had managed to knock out Chili's Simisear while her Pokémon received minimal damage.

"COME ON, CHILI!" Cress cheered so loud that it could be heard over the roar of the crowd as he leapt to his feet, "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO LET THIS ICE-TYPE USER BEAT YOU?! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! CALM DOWN AND THINK FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE! AREN'T YOU THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS SAYING THAT FIRE TYPES ARE THE BEST?! THEN PROVE IT!"

Chili looked over, seeming surprised for a moment before smiling and turning back toward the battle.

Chili and Arcanine suddenly came alive as Cress ordered it to use overheat on Abomasnow, knocking it out. Jynx lashed out with a blizzard attack, but Arcanine was barely fazed as he retaliated with dragon pulse. Jynx attacked with body slam again, but Arcanine dodged it just as easily as it had before and lashed out again with dragon pulse.

Jynx fell and the crowd erupted with cheers as Chili raised his arms with victory.

Out of nowhere, the way it happens sometimes, Alice's brain made a connection. Didn't Ice have a Mamoswine like Evelyn's? Evelyn looked nothing like Ice, but wasn't it a little strange how their faces were _complete _opposites?

She looked up at the screen showing the brackets and saw a small electric-type user and a large flying-type user.

Could it be? It made since, she'd been so caught up in scanning the crowd that she hadn't even thought about the actual _competitors_!

"Cress!" she called as Chili left the stage, "I think the Sinister Six are competing in the tournament!"

In the lobby, Alice explained her line of reasoning. Another quick look at the tournament roster showed that the electric-type user was using an Emolga and a Raichu and the flying-type user was using an Altaria.

"It's so obvious! I feel stupid for not realizing it earlier!" Alice chastised herself. She made a mental note to be more vigilant in the future.

"You're right," Cress agreed with her theory, "I honestly don't see how it could _not_ be them. The problem is that we don't know the other three are."

"_And_ you probably gave up the element of surprise when you cheered for Chili."

Before Cress had a chance to defend himself, a loud voice called him, "Hey, Cress! What's up, bro?"

They turned to see Chili walking straight toward them.

"Uh… Quite a bit actually. I wish I could say that I didn't have ulterior motives for attending today. That was an excellent battle, by the way… except for the parts where you were losing."

"What can I say? I've gotta put on a good show for the audience." He suddenly noticed Alice, "Whoa. And _who_ are you?" He inquired as he slipped between her and Cress.

She quickly realized three things. One, he was flirting with her (something that'd never happened to her before), two she _really _didn't have time for this, and three he could help them.

"Cress," she addressed, "I think he could help."

"Uh… I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"What's not a good idea?" Chili asked.

Alice replied to Cress, "He's _in _the tournament! He could spy for us!"

"Whoa, wait! _Spy_? On who? Why?"

Cress sighed, "Alright, listen. Two days ago, Alice's Umbreon was stolen in Virbank…"

It took the rest of the second battle, in which the suspected Watts competed and won, to explain the events of the past two days to Chili and explain what was going on at that moment.

"So…" Chili began, "Let me get this straight. You've been on chase through Unova to save Umbreon from these six thieves and now three of them were in the tournament and I probably just beat this Ice character. So what exactly am I supposed to do?"

"Easy," Alice explained, "Just keep an eye on them, try not to be obvious about it, and tell us _everything_ that you see."

"Everything? That's a lot."

"We'll be able to figure out what's important and what isn't."

"I don't know… it sounds kinda dangerous."

"Since when do you care about dangerous?" Cress demanded.

"I'm not saying I won't do it. I'm just saying that I should be compensated."

"I have a feeling I'm going to regret asking, but compensated _how_?"

"I want you to say that water-types suck and fire-types are the best and that you're an arrogant jerk. _And _I want you to say it to one of those reporters over there."

"What?! No! I am _not_ doing that!"

"Well, I guess you don't want my help, then!"

"Come on, Cress," Alice groaned, "We _need_ his help! Just do it."

In one final attempt to bargain, Cress begged, "There _has_ to be something else that you want!"

"Hmm… Nope. Nothing comes to mind at the moment," Chili replied.

Cress groaned with annoyance and sighed as he finally caved in, "_Fine_. But I'd like to go on the record saying that you are an immature loser and that I'm going to get you back for this later."

"Great! Let's go, now." Chili pushed Cress toward the reporters.

"W-wait! You didn't say I had to do it _now_!"

Alice, not knowing what else to do, hesitated only a moment before following them.

"Hey!" Chili called as they approached the reporters, "Are any of you recording live?"

"Uh…" on reporter said, "I'm pretty sure we all are. You're Chili and Cress, right?"

"Yep! And Cress here's got something really important he needs to say. Don't ya, Cress."

"Yeah…" he said with a slight tone of sarcasm, "I sure do."

"Oh?" the reporter said, "What would that be?"  
Cress mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?"

He mumbled a little louder this time.

"I… we can't hear you."

"I SAID WATER-TYPES SUCK, FIRE-TYPES ARE THE BEST, AND I'M AN ARROGANT JERK, OKAY?!"

The reporters stood there for a moment, stunned before they all turned toward their cameras and spoke awkwardly to their audiences as Chili bust out laughing.

The brothers walked away and Alice followed.

When they were out of ear shot of the reporters Cress growled, "I. Hate. You. _So. Much._"

"Love you too, bro," Chili laughed. "Alright. I'll go do the whole espionage thing now. See you guys later, nice meeting you Alice."

Shortly after Chili returned to the rooms where the competitors were hanging out Cress turned to Alice and said, "I would appreciate it if you would remind me to kill him later."

Alice replied simply, "Duly noted."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Alice and Cress spent the rest of the day at the PWT. Between rounds, Chili would report to them and relay what he learned about the members of the Sinister Six. After the last semi-final round of the final tournament, they met Chili for one more time.

"Okay," Chili began, "I _think_ I figured out where they're hangout is. It's—."

Chili was cut off by the sound of screams coming from inside the seating area.

"What's going on?" Chili exclaimed.

"It _has_ to be them!" Alice replied.

"I assume you wish to stop them?" Cress divined.

"I'll do anything if it leads me to Umbreon! Let's go." Alice raced toward the entrance to the coliseum where the security guards were already gathering by the stuck door. Cress and Chili followed close behind.

"What's going on?" Cress inquired.

A guard answered, "We don't know! They've barred the door!"

"Step aside," Chili replied, "I got this. Go! Emboar!" The large Pokémon appeared in front of the door. "Take out the door with hammer arm!" The Emboar swung back its fist and slammed it into the door, crushing it in one fell swoop. Emboar stepped to the side and gestured with both arms toward the door with a slight bow. The security guards charged through the door. Alice followed closely.

Inside the seating area, chaos had erupted. The room was pitch-black except for where Pokémon's moves were erupting. People trying to save their Pokémon buffeted Alice on all sides. She pulled her purse off her back and pulled out Mandibuzz's pokéball. She called it out, half expecting the Pokémon to be Umbreon.

She leaped onto Mandibuzz's back and pulled a surprisingly powerful penlight out of her bag as the Pokémon took off. She used the pen like a searchlight combing the room with her eyes as Mandibuzz flew over the chaos. She found that most of the trainers that were fighting back were concentrated in one area, surrounded by the thieves.

It was then that Alice had a thought. If all of the Pokémon thieves were here, then their base was unoccupied. And _that_ meant that Umbreon was unguarded!

"Change of plans, Mandibuzz!" she said to her Pokémon, "find Chili."

Mandibuzz nodded and swerved away. They found Chili on Emboar's shoulders as the Pokémon pushed its way through the crowd. Mandibuzz dived in close.

"Chili!" Alice called over the noise, "Where did you say that you thought their hangout was?"

"Clay Tunnel," he replied, "Why?"

"Find Cress and meet me their ASAP!" Without another word, she and Mandibuzz flew toward the door.

She flew toward the building's exit and was surprised by Mandibuzz's maneuverability as she flew right through the open door. The Pokémon soared toward the building that marked the entrance to the PWT. They flew in and stopped to talk to the startled guide at the counter.

"M-may I help you?" the woman asked, startled by their sudden appearance.

"Yes," Alice replied, "Do those guide books include a map of Clay Tunnel?"

"Of course. Uh, may I ask why?"

"No. How much do the guide books cost?"

"Um, only a hundred Pokédollars."

"I'll take it." Alice picked up the guidebook and threw a two hundred Pokédollar note at her. She began to fly off.

"Miss! Your change!"

Alice called back, "If you see Cress the former gym leader, give it to him!"

A short while later Alice trudged through Clay Tunnel. She alternated her light between her guidebook and the area in front of her. She had already figured out where she was heading. There were certain tunnels marked as closed to the public. If she were a band of evil thieves and didn't want to get caught with a stolen Pokémon, she'd hide herself in one of those. The first tunnel she planned to check out was one that had a small exit shaft that connected to Mistralion Cave. Part of her thought about how stupid it was that the guide book mapped out the parts of the tunnel that they didn't want anyone going, but most of her was pretty grateful for the publishing error.

She found the bright orange roadblock-style blockade futilely attempting to block her entrance to the forbidden section of cave. She climbed over it easily and stepped forward cautiously. As she stepped forward, her doubts escalated. Had she really seen all six thieves fighting in the coliseum? Should she have come here alone? What would she do if she were caught alone with one of the thieves? Blip she could probably handle, but Rift and Ninja were lost causes.

Needless to say, she was relieved when she arrived at what _had _to be their _empty_ base. Well, empty wasn't exactly the right word. Bags and crates were all over the place and several laptops sat closed in one general area.

"Umbreon?" she whispered loudly, "Are you here?"

She heard him yip excitedly from beside some wooden crates. Throwing caution to the wind, she climbed over the crates and slipped down the other side.

"Umbreon!" she greeted. Umbreon yipped happily and began scratching at the bottom of the cage. Alice stroked his face through the cage.

She heard someone groan loudly and tiredly, "Shuh up!"

Alice froze. After a moment she turned around to see Rift lying on a cot. His slow breathing told her that he was asleep. There was a bandage wrapped around the arm she had stabbed in Nimbasa.

She thought about her next course of action. She knew that she couldn't call Umbreon into his Pokéball while he was in the cage. The original plan was to use Mandibuzz's attack to break the lock, but with Rift asleep not even four feet away that was not an option. She looked around for something to move the cage with. She found a hand truck across the cave, by the laptops. She retrieved it and slipped it under Umbreon's cage. She began to roll the cage away when she noticed a slight tug.

She looked and realized that a nearly invisible string was attached to the cage door. The other end of the string was connected to the switch of an old radio. She had to admit that it was a clever idea. If someone failed to notice before they opened the cage door or tried to move the cage it'd turn on the radio (which was probably on full volume) and it would wake up Rift.

She pulled out her Swiss army knife out and cut the string. She continued rolling away, feeling victorious. Then, as she walked toward the edge of the boxes, a loud buzz sounded. She looked down and saw the pressure plate beneath her foot as Rift snapped awake.

Alice bolted as Rift called out a dusknoir. She ran down the tunnel and just when she was sure that she and Umbreon were in the clear, the dusknoir appeared in front of her and grabbed her. She turned her head to see Rift had caught up to them. She struggled against the pokémon's grip, but it didn't do any good. Rift grabbed her purse off her back and laughed.

"You honestly thought that you could just waltz in here and take back what we've stolen?" he sneered. Dusknoir turned her around so that she was facing the thief. "Weren't you satisfied by the Mandibuzz you took from us?"

"Neither Umbreon or Mandibuzz are prizes. I can't replace one with the other and I'd never dream of it!" With that, Alice managed to kick him in the gut. He dropped her purse from the shock and Mandibuzz's pokéball rolled out. Rift regained his bearings as Umbreon pawed the pokéball through the bars of his cage. He hit the button once, twice and Mandibuzz popped out.

"Mandibuzz!" Alice called out, "Help me out with foul play!"

The pokémon attacked and knocked her out of Dusknoir's grip. Dusknoir was knocked out with surprising ease.

"Use brave bird on Umbreon's cage!" The pokémon smashed the cage door with ease and Alice wondered exactly how strong her new friend was. Before she could hesitate, she grabbed Umbreon and scooped up her things and turned, hurrying down the tunnel. She noticed a moment later that Mandibuzz lingered behind.

"Come on!" Alice ordered, "We gotta bolt!" The Pokémon hesitated for a moment, looking ready to face her former captor, before it turned and followed Alice.

As they rushed away, Alice heard the echoing sound of Rift's voice saying, "Yeah, it's me! Get back here as soon as possible! Of course it's her…!"

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her down those tunnels. Her heart pounded and her lungs ached. She couldn't believe she was this out of shape.

_That's it_, she decided, _as soon as I get out of this situation, I'm going to start exercising _every_ day._

She was startled by a spiritomb appearing out of the wall. She leaped and fell over. Umbreon fell out of her arms. Mandibuzz stood in front of spiritomb and screeched at it as Alice scrambled backward. She managed to get to her feet and keep running. Mandibuzz and Umbreon followed quickly. She rushed toward the exit. She turned onto the main tunnel. The exit was in sight.

She allowed herself the slightest smile of relief. Just a little farther… She could head to the police station and then she and Umbreon would be home free. Maybe she could get these thieves arrested, but not likely. They were pretty slippery and the police were pretty incompetent.

Alice made it to the exit and ran through. She wanted to reassure Umbreon, but her throat hurt too much from the running. She allowed herself to smile just as she heard Umbreon cry out.

She turned to see that the giant Pierce, still wearing the cloths of his alias had grabbed Umbreon. She began to charge when someone grabbed her from behind. She looked behind her and struggled to free her arm from Ninja's grip, but it was futile. Her legs felt like jelly and her arms didn't feel like compensating.

The only word that went through her mind was, _NoNoNoNoNoNoNo…_

"Sorry about this," Ninja apologized as she pulled toward Umbreon. Then everything was black…

Alice woke later to the sound of her name being called again and again. She forced herself to sit up and found that her legs felt sore, her arm and neck were turning purple with bruises. Her other arm had small scratches.

She also realized she was in a tree.

Alice exclaimed with shock and hugged the trunk when she almost fell out. Mandibuzz squawked from the branch above. She estimated that flying Pokémon + tree + scratches on arm = the way she got in said tree while passed out.

"Alice!" Cress's voice called out again.

Chili rushed out of Clay Tunnel saying, "I couldn't find her or the Sinister Six in the cave, but they were definitely there."

Cress groaned, "Where is she?"

"Up here!" Alice answered.

The brothers looked up and Chili whistled and asked, "How did ya get up _there_?"

"I think Mandibuzz brought me up here after I was knocked out. Help me."

Cress and Chili looked at each other and called out Simipour and Simisear, respectively. They nimbly climbed up the tree and carried Alice down.

"Thank you," she breathed when she finally reached the ground.

"Are you alright?" Cress inquired, concerned.

"What happened?" Chili asked.

Alice relayed what had happened to her to the brothers with as much detail as she could muster. By the time she was finished, she was holding back tears.

"That's tough," Chili attempted to sympathize.

"You have no idea," she breathed, "I was _so close!_ I _held_ Umbreon in my hands!"

"Don't worry Alice," Cress encouraged, "We'll get him back. I promise."

"You're right. And I'm not going to give up until I have him back."

"That's the spirit!" Chili cheered.

She pulled out the guidebook she bought earlier (turned out to be one for the entire Unova Region) and checked something that she had seen earlier.

"According to this, Clay Tunnel connects to Mistralion Cave. If I'm right… yeah, their camp was really close to the place where the two caves connect. I bet they're heading to Mistralion."

"If they're heading that way, I'll bet they're going to grab a plane," Chili inferred.

"That or they're just passing through to head to Icarus or Opelucid," Cress speculated.

"Okay, simple solution," Alice decided, "Chili, you head onward to Icarus ASAP and Cress and I will head to Mistralion to see if we can catch up to the Sinister Six."

"Sounds like a plan," Cress agreed.

"Yeah," Chili agreed, "Except Cress is the one who gets to go with the cute girl."  
"What can I say? I'm just that good."

"Oh my God! Not now!" Alice exclaimed.

"As you wish, my lady."

"Why don't I call Cilan?" Chili suggested.

"Good idea," Alice approved, "These guys are tough and you could use the back-up."

"Right. I'll tell Cilan to meet me in Icarus. See ya 'round." Just like that, Chili was gone.

Alice didn't waste a second. She hopped onto Mandibuzz's back and Cress called out a swanna. The second he was ready they took off.

Alice knew she couldn't stop. If she rested, diverted her attention away from the search for even an instant, she _knew_ that she would break down. The tears would come and wouldn't stop. She'd curl into a ball and sink into her own self-pity. She had to get Umbreon back.

No matter what it took.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I'm starting to think that you're more trouble than you're worth," Rift growled as he kicked Umbreon's new cage. They were hiding out in one of the cargo bays in Mistralion city. Blip was on the phone with the client interested in purchasing Umbreon.

"I dare to contradict," Ice replied, "The client is paying a good sum of money for this little guy."

"We need to get that girl out of the picture."

"Why?" Ninja interjected, "When we sell Umbreon, she'll become the client's problem."  
"He's got a good point, there," Ice agreed, "Besides, we can't waste time getting her out of the way. The meeting is in a few days."

"Actually," Blip began as he hung up his phone, "that was the client. He wants to meet us in Lentimas Town tomorrow night."

"Then let's get this over with," Rift ordered, "Let's get the next flight we can to Lentimas. And if we encounter that girl again… well, we can cross that bridge when we get there."

They all nodded in solemn agreement.

It only took thirty minutes for Alice and Cress to arrive in Mistralion. They spent the rest of the day searching the town. They met outside the airport around sunset.

"The only place we haven't looked yet is the airfield and the cargo bays," Alice reminded.

"I got Skyla's permission to search the area," he replied, "Let's go."

They were really lucky; the first hanger window they peered through revealed the Sinister Six. Alice silently pulled the window open while holding a finger to her lips to indicate silence. They moved out of view of the window and eavesdropped.

"Hurry it up!" Rift barked, clearly stressed, "The client is going to be _pissed_ if we don't get Umbreon to him before tomorrow night!"

"Hey, it isn't my fault that it took longer than expected to find the right kind of plane!" Blip shouted back. "We couldn't take that crop-duster because it'd look out of place in Lentimas and a big cargo plane would attract too much attention."

Alice looked at Cress. They had a time and place.

"Speaking of Lentimas," Ice began, "Has the client sent over the coordinates yet?"

"Yeah," Blip replied before listing off the numbers. Alice was glad to see that Cress had the foresight to record the conversation on his Cross-Transceiver.

With that information, Alice closed the window and the two shrunk away. She wanted to rush the hanger, but Cress forced her to keep calm and think.

"I know you want to go in there guns-blazing, but it would be better to think of a plan, first."

Alice protested, "If we don't strike now, we'll lose Umbreon for good!"

"We can take them if we wait and rally the troops."

Alice thought for a moment before she got an idea, "Alright, let's head back to the pokémon center."

Ninja was half-asleep when the plane finally roared to life. He forced himself into consciousness and walked toward his companions. Ice and Blip were manning the cockpit while Watts, Pierce, and Rift stood by the back entrance of the plane.

Rift was about to speak over the roar of the engines when the double-doors of the hanger were flung open.

The girl, Alice, and her Mandibuzz charged toward them, clearly desperate.

Ninja called out Weavile while stepping to the side and grabbed the girl as she dashed past. Weavile attacked with ice beam and Mandibuzz was frozen solid.

"Give me my Umbreon!" she shouted over the engine.

"We don't have time for this!" Rift decided, "Tie her up and get her on the plane!"

Pierce held her while she struggled and Watts tossed Ninja a rope before skipping onto the plane. Ninja tied Alice's hands and took her purse, looking for her knife. When he couldn't find it, he recalled Mandibuzz as Pierce threw Alice over his shoulder. She continued to kick and struggle until the plane took off.

Pierce placed her carelessly next to Umbreon, who she seemed more than glad to see.

"Umbers!" she exclaimed as tears welled up in her eyes, "I'm so sorry! I should have listened to Cress! Don't worry, I'll think of something, we… we'll be fine!" A single, heart-breaking, hopeless tear slid down her face.

Ninja looked away.

A short while later, Rift, Pierce, and Watts were all asleep. Alice had awkwardly slipped her bound hands through Umbreon's cage to stroke his fur. Ninja sat across the way, staring at her. She forced herself to avoid his gaze.

Suddenly, Ninja got up and walked over to them and sat down a few feet to Alice's side.

He handed Alice her water bottle. She took it and drank a sip of water before pouring the rest into the water tray in Umbreon's cage.

"What was that for?" She asked as she tucked the water-bottle into her lap.

"Thought you might be thirsty," Ninja replied.

"I wasn't, but Umbreon is." The pokémon was beginning to lap up the water.

"How did you know?"

"He's always thirsty after he finishes his food and he finished eating a while ago."

"He's a good pokémon."

"I assume that's why you _stole him_."

He didn't reply.

"What are you guys going to do to me when you're done with Umbreon?"

"…Probably ransom. Blip looked you up."

"Ah. You know that my parents are wealthy, then?"

"Yes."

"Well, let me save you the trouble: my parents aren't going to waste a dime on me."

He looked at her quizzically.

"My parents don't care about me. I'm not sure if they ever did. They don't even bother to hide it."

"…Is that why you want your pokémon back so much?"

"He's my best friend. I love him more than anything in the whole world. He's pulled me from dark places more times than I can count."

She noticed him staring at the thin scars on her arms. Reflexively, she went to cover them up before remembering that her hands were bound together.

He didn't say anything, but he rolled up his sleeves to show scars on his arms like the ones on hers.

"I had nothing," he said, "then I had them." He was looking around at all his friends.

Then he rolled his sleeve back down and sat silently.

After a while, Alice decided that he was asleep and picked up her water bottle. She shook the water bottle, hearing metal kinking on metal, before her knife slipped into her lap. After some maneuvering, she flipped it open and began to saw at her ropes.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"How's that for a landing?" Blip inquired boastfully as he shut off the plane and got out of his seat.

"Decent," Ice replied as she got up and stretched, "Pierce probably could've done better if he weren't so reckless."

"What are we gonna do about her?" Pierce inquired, referring to Alice.

"If the plane weren't stolen I'd leave her here," Rift answered, "but since it _is _stolen, we have to take her with us. Ninja, you're responsible for her."

Ninja nodded and offered his hand to help Alice up.

In response, she glared at him and pushed herself off the floor, grabbing her purse as she did.

"I'm not one for kidnapping," Ninja informed.

"Clearly," Alice replied sarcastically as she looked to Umbreon. "I can't believe this is the last time I'm ever going to see you, Umbers. I'm so sorry I failed you."

The Umbreon put its foreleg between the bars, pawing at the air as if trying to comfort Alice.

"Come on," Ninja goaded, pressing his hand to her back with surprising gentleness.

"I hope you realize what stealing my umbreon means for me," Alice spat as they approached the trade sight. It was a dip in the land between two mountains where one could enter the mountain caves.

"I don't care," Rift replied.

"Exactly. You don't care, my parents don't care, my boss doesn't care, _no one_ cares except Umbreon! Taking him away from me is gonna kill me!"

"You'll live," Ice snapped, "Now shut up or I'll make you're life even worse than it already is."

"Try it."

Umbreon whined and continued pawing at Alice, who could only look at him and think, _Don't worry. I'll get us out of this_.

"This is it," Blip informed as he closed laptop, "Now we just wait."

And wait they did. They waited until sunset and then some.

Finally, the sound of a helicopter's blades chopped the air and the wind whipped around them as it came into view and touched down in front of them.

Rift stepped forward as two sleazy-looking men in expensive suits stepped out of the helicopter.

"You have what we came for?" the man with the red tie asked.

"We do," Rift answered.

"Well?" the man in the yellow-striped tie demanded. Rift waved at his teammates and Watts began walking toward them, pushing the hand truck with Umbreon's cage.

Alice saw her chance and spun around, smacking Ninja in the head with her purse and letting the cut rope fall off her wrists. She felt a satisfying thud as her water bottle made contact with his skull.

She ran forward, pulling out Mandibuzz's pokéball and then sling her bag onto her back. Ninja, dazed, watched as an empty full restore bottle fell out of her bag.

Alice called out Mandibuzz and tackled Watts.

"Do something!" Rift ordered as he ran towards her.

"Mandibuzz!" Alice called as she wrestled with Watts, "Use brave bird on the lock!"

The Mandibuzz screeched in reply and obeyed.

Umbreon hopped quickly out of its cage.

Ice called out her weavile and it was immediately met with a fire blast, knocking it out instantly.

Chili, Cilian, and Cress stepped out of their hiding places.

"Fire types are the best!" Chili cheered.

"Alice," Cress called, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" she replied triumphantly.

The thieves froze as they heard a siren whooping from the cliffs.

A man with a bullhorn called out, "This is the police! Recall your Pokémon and put your hands up!"

The Sinister Six looked at each other and Alice saw them all look to Rift with determination in his eyes.

"Over my dead body!" he exclaimed, calling out all his pokémon a once. His cohorts followed suit.

"Here Umbreon!" Alice called, kneeling down to meet her beloved friend as he ran to meet her. She pulled him in close and bawled tears of pure joy. "I'm so glad we're together again!"

Just then, Mandibuzz leaped in front of Alice and used protect. It squawked in protest as it deflected a shadow sneak.

"Right," Alice remembered as she rose to her feet, "We're not in the clear yet." Around her, chaos raged as the Sinister Six and their Pokémon brawled with the police and the triplets. "Mandibuzz, Umbreon, are you ready?"

"You!" Rift roared as he spotted her, "_You're _the reason everything's gone wrong!"

"We'll get you for this!" Ice reaffirmed as she appeared by his side.

"Not you or anyone else will _ever _take _anything_ from me! _Never again!_" Alice howled.

"Especially not if I can help it," Cress supported as he appeared behind her and stepped forward.

"Don't get too cocky!" Rift sneered, "We'll get you, too!"

"How?" Alice mocked, "It appears you two only have three pokémon left between you."

"We'll see how well you hold up!" Ice replied, "_Go Mamoswine!_"

"Dusknior!" Rift called out. Their Pokémon appeared in front of them.

"Come on Umbreon!" Alice cheered, "Let's show them what you can do when you're not caged up!"

Umbreon called out in agreement and bounded forward.

"I absolutely cannot wait to see this!" Cress agreed smugly, "Go Simipour!"

For a brief moment, it seemed the four trainers and their Pokémon were caught in the eye of the storm; chaos reigning around them, but they sat in still anticipation. Each trainer ran thoughts and strategies through their head.

Then the calm passed and they were sucked into the storm.

"Dusknior!" Rift called, "Shadow sneak on Umbreon!"

"Umbreon!" Alice replied, "Protect!

"Mamoswine! Sheer cold on Simipour!" Ice ordered

"Simipour! Use low kick on Mamoswine!"

Umbreon called forth a field of energy as Dusknoir disappeared and slid forward as a shadow. Simipour deftly dodged Mamoswine's attack and went in close, kicking Mamoswine's base. It was clear the fighting-type move did decent damage to the ice and ground type Pokémon.

"Thunder punch Simipour!" Rift ordered Dusknoir.

"Stop it with shadow ball!" Alice called to Umbreon.

Dusknoir shot toward Simipour, going in for a one-hit-KO. At last second, Simipour leaped out of the way and Umbreon let loose a shadow ball. The sphere collided with Dusknoir and knocked it back a good three feet.

"Alright Umbreon!" Alice cheered.

"Simipour! Finish it off with ice beam!" Cress ordered before the ghost could recover.

The move hit, but Dusknoir just barely managed to hang on.

"Mamoswine, use rockslide!" Ice barked.

A wave of rock tumbled toward Umbreon and Simipour. Simipour managed to dodge, leaping quickly on to an outcropping of rock, but Umbreon wasn't so lucky.

"Umbreon!" Alice called out, clearly concerned as he struggled to his feet.

"Call back Umbreon," Cress suggested, "Send out Mandibuzz. I'll take care of Mamoswine."

"But… Mandibuzz can't defend against Dusknoir's thunder punch."

"Don't worry," Cress reassured with a confident smile, "It'll be fine."  
Alice realized how much she'd grown to trust Cress and nodded.

"Umbreon, return!" she called as she put Umbreon back in its pokéball. "Go Mandibuzz!" She waved the bird Pokémon forward and it swooped into the battlefield.

"Simipour!" Cress called, "Use hydro pump on Mamoswine!"

Simipour leapt off its outcropping and high into the air. It took aim at Mamoswine and let loose a torrent of water. The attack buffeted the huge Pokémon relentlessly. Mamoswine stumbled before falling on its side with a giant thud.

"I'm out…" Ice muttered nervously as she recalled the fainted pokémon.

"Then get out of here!" Rift ordered, "We'll regroup where we talked about! Go!"

"I'm not going to leave you here!"

"Don't be stupid! You'll get caught! Dusknior! Thunder punch!"

Alice's attention snapped back to the battle as she ordered Mandibuzz to use foul play.

Dusknoir charged and made contact with Simipour a second before Madibuzz swooped in and landed a devastating foul play. Both Simipour and Dusknoir fainted as Ice took a few steps backwards.

"I'll see you later," she said to Rift just a second before she turned and ran.

"Come on out Slowking!" Cress called as he tossed the pokéball, unleashing the Pokémon.

"Things aren't looking good for you, aren't they?" Alice taunted.

Oddly, Rift smirked and answered, "Oh, don't worry. I'll turn this around real quick. Go Gengar!"

The ghost Pokémon appeared and snickered.

"That thing doesn't look like it'll be easy to beat," Cress told Alice in a low voice.

"I have a really bad feeling about this…" Alice agreed.

"We'll just have to get to it then," Cress decided, "Slowking! Psychic!"

"Mandibuzz! Use foul play!"

Rift reacted quickly, "Gengar, use protect!"

The ghost threw up a field before either attack could make contact. Slowking quickly gave up after Mandibuzz crashed into the defensive move.

Rift didn't wait to order, "Disable on Mandibuzz!"

"That's not good…" Cress muttered. Then he called out, "Use flame thrower!"

"Mandibuzz!" Alice shouted, "Use brave bird!"

The Gengar easily dodged the stream of fire, but failed to evade Mandibuzz as she dived and smashed into it. It bounced away quickly as Mandibuzz circled back to her original position and snickered.

"Did that do anything?" Alice whined, feeling discouraged.

"Disable only lasts about four turns," Cress informed helpfully, "So there are only three turns left before you get disable back. If we last that long…"

"Yeah. This thing is no joke!"

"Slowking! Scald!"

"Mandibuzz! Use dark pulse!"

Steaming water shot toward Gengar as Mandibuzz ascended and took aim. It let loose a pulse of dark energy with a screech.

Both attacks hit before Gengar could react.

Rift called, "Shadow ball on slowking!"

The Pokémon hurled the attack and Cress's Pokémon with ease. Slowking barely manage to hang on.

Rift barked, "Again!" and the Gengar repeated the action, knocking out Slowking. Cress called it back before it could fall to the ground.

"That's it…" Cress sighed with defeat, "That was my last Pokémon…"

"What?!" Alice exclaimed, "I can't take on that thing alone!"

"Yes you can," Cress turned to her and grabbed her shoulders, "I don't know whoever told you otherwise, Alice, but you and your Pokémon are _strong_. Over the past three days you've endured more hardship and survived more adventure than most people deal with in their _entire lives_! I don't know many people who can do that. Who are _strong enough _to do that."

Alice looked in his eyes and saw he was telling the truth.

"Alright," she agreed with a nod. Then she turned to Mandibuzz, "Use Dark Pulse!"

Mandibuzz, as if feeling Alice's determination, released her full power with the move. The darkness collided with Gengar, doing significant damage.

"Alright!" Alice whooped.

But the feeling of victory didn't last long as Rift called, "Focus blast!"

Gengar built up the attack and released the orange sphere, hitting Mandibuzz with near-catastrophic force.

The bird barely managed to keep flying and looked toward Alice.

Alice flinched as she realized she didn't know what to do.

"The disable is up!" Cress reminded, "Tell her to use foul play!"

"Right! Use foul play."

Rift, however, saw that coming and ordered, "Protect!"

Gengar threw up a field as Mandibuzz dived toward it and crashed into the field.

"Finish it off! Shadow ball!" The Gengar flung the attack at the bird before it could fly away and, just like that, Mandibuzz was out.

"No!" Alice exclaimed. She recalled the fainted Pokémon.

"Don't worry," Cress coached, "You still have Umbreon."

"…That's right," Alice realized, confidence surging through her. She'd traversed half of Unova to get to her friend. She'd almost forgot what it felt like when he was by her side. As if that weren't enough, she'd made two new friends along the way.

She had everything she needed.

With that she smirked and roared, "Nothing will ever stop me!" She tossed Umbreon's pokéball into the air and watched Umbreon land gracefully.

"Shadow ball!" Rift ordered.

"Protect!" Alice retorted. The moves collided and Umbreon came out unscathed. "Now use dark pulse!"

Umbreon let the attack loose and it collided before Gengar or Rift could respond.

"Use focus blast!" Rift barked.

"Iron tail!" Umbreon ran forward as Gengar charged the attack. When the ghost let the orange sphere fly, Umbreon leapt over it and turned into the air. It brought down its iron tail on Gengar's head and then flipped away.

"Way to go!" Alice cheered.

"You almost have him!" Cress encouraged.

"No!" Rift shouted, "Focus blast again!"

The Gengar charged the attack.

"Umbreon! Finish it off with shadow ball!"

The attacks flew at the same time. As the spheres hurdled toward the opposing Pokémon, each trainer worried their attack would come last.

But they hit at the same time.

Each sphere pushed a Pokémon back and both collapsed.

"Umbreon!" Alice cried.

"Get up, Gengar!" Rift howled.

Both Pokémon struggled to their feet, but Gengar didn't even get on his feet before collapsing. Meanwhile, Umbreon rose to his feet and howled defiantly and victoriously.

"We did it!" Alice whooped.

"Yes!" Cress cheered.

Umbreon turned and ran toward Alice as Rift recalled his Pokémon. Alice fell to her knees and embraced Umbreon as it collided with her.

Before Rift could take a single step, Chili and Cilan appeared on either side of him.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going?" Cilan demanded.

About thirty minutes later, Alice watched with Umbreon's head resting on her lap as Cilan used a max revive on Mandibuzz. The stone glowed briefly before Mandibuzz blinked awake.

"That should do it," Cilan determined.

"Hey there," Alice greeted as Mandibuzz looked around protectively.

"I guess we won't have to deal with those guys again for a _long_ time," Chili snickered as he nodded toward Peirce and Watts being shunted into a prisoner transport truck where Ice and Rift already sat, looking defeated.

"I kinda feel sorry for that little girl," Cilan admitted.

"Don't be," Alice ordered, "She's as bad as the rest of them."

"You may be a bit partial," Cress laughed, "By the way, I've yet to commend your excellent plan."

"Couldn't you just say 'good plan' like a normal person?" Alice laughed as she petted Umbreon.

"Why in the world would I want to be _normal_? I'm already near-perfect!"

They all laughed until Alice's cross-transceiver rang. She panicked when she saw the caller ID.

"It's my boss!" she cried. "Shush!"

She hit the answer button and watched Mr. Deeoh's face appear on screen.

"Ugh. Sorry to call so late, Ally. But you haven't— Dear lord! What is going on over there?!"

"It's Alice," she corrected, "and it's a long story." She imagined she must be quite the spectacle. Dirty face, disheveled hair, bruised neck, police lights cutting through the dark behind her.

"Uh. No matter. Why haven't you replied to the production e-mail we sent out? After that debacle three days ago, the whole studio's been a mess! Several works on the set of _Ball Belle_ jumped ship and production has completely halted on _Everlasting Memories_ because the child's impudent mother pulled her out because she was _scared_. Can you believe it?

"Anyway, we've had to completely re-arrange the production schedule—who knows _when_ we can resume _Everlasting Memories_— and we moved up the production for _Curse of Shadows._ You're first script reading is tomorrow at noon. Lunch will be provided so there will be no excuses for tardiness! Get yourself cleaned up and don't be late!

"_Ciao!_" he turned and put called, "What? No, Linda, I do _not _want chow mien! What made you think—?"

He cut himself off when he hung up.

"You're an actress?" Cilan inquired.

Alice smiled, "I will be."


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Six months later, Alice walked from her bedroom and collapsed on her couch. She'd just finished her shower after her evening run and her hair was still wet. She was wearing her favorite flannel pajama pants and a tank top, her hair in a careless ponytail.

Umbreon laid down next to her and Mandibuzz settled on the back of a chair. A month into production, her parents decided they were going to move full-time to Castilia and Alice convinced them to hand over the deed to their house to her. They pretty much left everything in it, so she now had a fully furnished townhouse to do with what she pleased.

She grabbed her remote and turned up the volume on the news.

"…Last night was the world premier of _Curse of Shadows _and the highly anticipated movie is already hailed as a 'modern classic' and 'the smash-hit movie of the year.' At the center of the critical acclaim is an actress new to the big screen and a Virbank Native, Alice Meyers."

They cut to an interview of Mr. Deeoh from after the premier, "Oh, her? She was _absolutely phenomenal! _That tyrant gave me _chills_! Like, _ooh la la_, dah-ling!"

They cut to a scene from before the premier, with Alice stepping out of a limo with Cress and his brothers in tow as the reporter's voice informed, "The rising star also caused a stir when she brought not one, but _three_ dates to the premier. And not just anyone, but former gym leaders…"

Alice stopped paying attention when she heard the doorbell ring. She muted the TV and got up. She walked through the door and looked through the peephole. When she saw who it was, she quickly undid the deadbolt and threw open the door.

"Cress!" she greeted, wrapping him in a hug, "What are you doing here? I didn't expect you back so soon."

"Well," he began, "Once we saw how well your movie was doing, I had the idea to cook you a celebratory feast and— what can I say?— my brother's just _had _to go with it."

Alice hadn't even noticed Chili and Cilan until they pushed past her carrying armfuls of groceries.

"Excuse us," Cilan apologized as he walked past. Alice and Cress followed.

"We're gonna use your kitchen, 'kay?" Chili informed as they sat their ingredients on the counters.

Cress looked at her outfit and said, "No. You will not be eating the best meal of your entire life in _flannel_. Go change. Into something as pretty as you are. Now."

Alice decided not to protest as Cress walked into her kitchen.

None of them ever actually _said _as much, but Mira got the feeling that after they day they saved Umbreon, the brothers had regained most of their old closeness. Even watching them shuffle around the kitchen chaotically looking for cutlery and dishes, wiping down the counters, and rearranging ingredients had something of a rhythm to it.

Alice smiled, glad to be friends with all of them.


End file.
